Umbrella

ABSTRACT

A flat umbrella of a telescopic type having a crown of generally rectangular shape, a main runner sliding on the telescopic stick and an auxiliary runner sliding between the main runner and the crown. The auxiliary runner is relatively more compact than the main runner or the crown. The lateral extensions of the runner converge towards the ends, thereby reducing the area of each lateral extension and allowing the dome ribs and stretcher members, when the umbrella is closed, to be grouped closer together, thereby reducing the size of the collapsed umbrella.

United States Patent [191 11] 3,831,613 Weber Aug. 27, 1974 UMBRELLA Primary Examiner-l Karl Bell [75] Inventor. Heinz Weber, Durerweg, Germany Attorney, g or Firm Alan y; Robert E. [73] Assignee: Telesco Brophey Limited, Montreal, Mitchell Quebec, Canada [22] Filed: Aug. 7, 1972 [57] ABSTRACT Appl. No.: 278,432

[52] US. Cl 135/20 R [51] Int. Cl A45b 19/06 [58] Field of Search 135/20-26 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,244,187 4/1966 Weber 135/26 3,431,925 3/1969 Kraft 135/25 R 3,590,865 7/1971 Bremshey 135/26 3,638,668 2/1972 Kida 135/25 A flat umbrella of a telescopic type having a crown of generally rectangular shape, a main runner sliding on the telescopic stick and an auxiliary runner sliding betweenthe main runner and the crown. The auxiliary runner is relatively more compact than the main runner or the crown. The lateral extensions of the runner converge towards the ends, thereby reducing the area of each lateral extension and allowing the dome ribs and stretcher members, when the umbrella is closed, to be grouped closer together, thereby reducing the size of the collapsed umbrella.

7 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PAIENIEWEZTW 3.831.513,

arm 1:! 4

PAIENTEU M22 3.831.813

mm ear 4 FIG. 2

UMBRELLA BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 2. Description of Prior Art Heretofore in the construction of telescopic umbrellas of a flat type it has been customary to provide a rectangular crown and similar rectangular out-lying runners on-the telescopic stick. The auxiliary runner, however, has been a problem in production since it must be smaller than the crown so as to allow the dome ribs to fold down against it when the umbrella is collapsed, however, by making the lateral extensions of the auxiliary runner smaller, these extensions also become weaker structurally and tend to break. This especially happens when the umbrella is provided with a self-opening device such as the elongated tripping member usually associated with a'strut in the support structure of the umbrella and associated with the auxiliary runner to which thestrut is hinged see,.for example, US. Letters Pat. to WEBER, No. 3,244,187, issued Apr. 5, I966. As the tripping member engages the opening in the stick and forces the strut outwardly, increasing forces are applied to the lateral extensions of the runner increasing thechance of snapping thelateral extension. This particularly happens when the tripping member, for one reason or another, is jammed. It then acts as a lever working against the lateral extension of the runner. Also in known type flat umbreallas, it is impractical to use the type of tripping member as shown in the weber patent above, since the struts are hinged too far from the stick to function effectively.

Also, flat umbrellas have been developed wherein there is provided a rectangular crown and runners, of circular cross section, sliding on the stick. In this case, the telescopic dome ribs hinged to the ends of the crown are not extended to their full length as are the dome ribs hinged to the side .of the crown, i.e., on the narrow axis of the rectangular crown. Also, while opening the umbrella, the support structures for each dome rib are disposed at different angles of inclination be tween the dome ribs and thus render the self-opening such as that of the abovementioned Weber patent above substantially impractical.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an aim of the present invention to provide an umbrella particularly an auxiliary runner for such an umbrella which is stronger. yet more compact than the conventional auxiliary runners, thereby allowing the dome ribs to fold neatly against it when the umbrella is in the closed position. It is a further aim of the present invention to provide an auxiliary runner of the type which is readily adaptable to a self-opening device of the tripping member type described above.

A construction in accordance with the present invention includes a telescopic umbrella having a rectangular shaped crown at one end of the telescopic stick, a main runner sliding on the telescopic stick and an auxiliary runner sliding on the stick between the main run-. ncr and the crown. Dome ribs are hinged from the crown with at least a pair of dome ribs hinged to each end of the crown and the corresponding stretcher members are hinged to the main runner andto the dome ribs while strut members are hinged from the.

ends of the auxiliary runner to the stretcher members. The struts corresponding to the opposed pairs of dome ribs extending from the ends of the crown are hinged to the ends of the auxiliary runner in a common opening in each end of the auxiliary runner and the side edges of the auxiliary runner converge towards each end thereof. The outline of the lateral extensions of the auxiliary runner is of diametrically opposed trapezoids.

1 be snapped off as with conventional auxiliary runners.

It is also possible, due to the present construction, to hinge all of the struts to the auxiliary runner by means of a single wire running about the periphery of the runner. In the conventional type of runner, since the lateral extensions were narrower than the sleeve of the runner, it was not practical to use a single wire but was necessary to use two wires, one for each lateral extension, thereby increasing the cost of production.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Having thus described the nature of the invention, particular reference will be made to the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred embodiments thereof, and in which:

FIG. I is a schematic perspective view looking into an open umbrella;

FIG. 2 is afragmentary enlarged side elevation with the cover removed, showing a single assembly of a dome rib, strut, and stretcher member of the umbrella;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged elevation of the umbrella frame in a closed condition;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the umbrella frame shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 which is on the same sheet of drawings as FIG. 2, is a fragmentary horizontal cross section taken substantially on line 55 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is enlarged cross section taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 2 and showing the crown in phantom lines;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged axial cross section of the umbrella through the auxiliary runner frame when closed;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross sectional view, similar to FIG. 7, but showing the structure in a different operative position; and

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view similar to FIGS. 7 and 8, but showing the structure in still a different operative position.

Referring now to the drawings, the umbrella includes a stick 1 and telescopic sections 2 and 3. In the present embodiment the upper stick section 2 is a circular cross section while the lower section 3 is of hexagonal cross section. A spring ball device 4 holds the stick sections extended as shown in FIG. I. A handle 5 is attached to the lower stick section 3. The handle 5 is of a flattened shape.

A crown 6 is attached to the upper section 2 of the stick 1 and is of rectangular outline in top view. The

crown 6 includes a sleeve-like extension 7 and the lateral extensions of the crown 6 are identified 8; the crown includes sides 8" and ends 8' and is generally rectangular.

Dome ribs 9 are hinged to the lateral extensions 8' of the rectangular crown 6. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, slots 10 are provided along the periphery of the crown in order to allow the dome rib ends to be hinged to the crown therein. In the present embodiment there are eight dome ribs with four on each lateral extension 8. Two of the dome ribs 9 are provided along the ends 8 of the lateral extensions 8 on either side of the longitudinal axis XX of the crown 6. Two dome ribs are provided opposite each other on either side 8 of the axis Y-Y.

Main runner l2 slides on the stick and auxiliary runner l3 slides between the main runner l2 and the crown 6. The main runner is of a conventional type having lateral rectangular extensions 16' and a projection is underneath one of the lateral extensions 16 housing a catch lever 14, in the sleeve 12. Stretcher members 18 are pivoted to the periphery of the rectangular lateral extensions 16' in slots 17 provided therefore. The other ends of the stretchers 18 are hinged to a geats l9 sliding on the dome rib 9 and aperture 20 is provided in the geats 19 to which the dome ribs can be attached to the umbrella dome by thread (not shown).

Struts 22 are hinged to intermediate points of the stretchers 18 at 2] and the other ends thereof are hinged to the auxiliary runner 13. Referring now to FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, the auxiliary runner 13 includes lateral extensions 23 which are of trapezoidal shape, with a common base running through the lateral or transverse axis of the stick generally on YY. The side edges of the trapezoidally lateral extensions converge towards the XX axis and transverse end edges which in turn defines an enlarged single slot or opening 25 for hinging in the singleslot a pair of struts 22 on the same hinge-pin formed by a continuous wire 26 running about the entire periphery of the auxiliary runner. This wire 26 lies in a groove 27 formed in about the entire periphery of the runner 13.

Referring to FIG. 5 it is noted that the rearward or inward projections of each set of the dome ribs 9, extending from the sides 8 of the rectangular crown, intersect at a point axially aligned with the point of intersection of the pair of struts 22 hinged in the common slot 25 in the auxiliary runner 13. This arrangement improves the hinged stability (hinge points coincide) and allows the auxiliary runner to be reduced-in size considerably as well as modify stresses on extension 23. The shape of the lateral extensions, i.e., the trapezoidal shape, makes it possible for the hinged slots 25 in the end or side edges of the lateral extensions 23 to be substantially closer to the end hinge slots even to the extent that the former lie between the latter. The slots 25 could have a width Bl which is equal to the width B2 (FIG. 4) between the end slots 10 of the crown 6'without any loss in stability.

As may be seen in FIG. 6, the common hinging of the struts 22 at the ends of the lateral extensions of the auxiliary runner 13 makes it possible, when the umbrella is closed, for the dome ribs to be closely grouped together even though the geats 19 are crowded together in that area (see FIG. 4). The geats have been shown in dotted lines in FIG. 6 to illustrate how close these geats can be grouped together under the crown 6 (shown phantom lines) and thereby further reduce the size (i.e.-, cross section) of the umbrella when it is collapsed.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 9 it can be seen that even in a flat umbrella, a tripping type of member 29 for assisting in opening the umbrella, is practical in this type umbrella. The operator 29 is fastened. at its free end to one of the strut 22' within the U-shaped cross section thereof while the head of the member 29 includesa transverse elongated slot 34 in a conventional head 35 including camming surfaces 36, 38 and 37. The slot 25 in the auxiliary runner 13 is off-set from the remainder of the strut pivoting slot 34 so as to bring the camming head 35 of the tripping device close to the stick. When the umbrella is being opened and the dome ribs 9 fail to pivot outwardly, they will telescope one into the other until the camming head 35 engages a slot in the umbrella stick thereby causing the tripping device and the strut 22' to pivot outwardly. Furthermore, the engagement of the camming head in the slot 30 temporarily halts the auxiliary runner l3 and if the main runner is continually pushed upwardly along the stick, the stretcher members and struts will be forced to pivot outwardly, thereby initiating the movedisengaged from the slot 30 allowing the runner 13 to continue sliding movement towards the crown.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the umbrella is being closed and the camming head 35 again protrudes into the opening 30, it will be pushed outwardly once again when the umbrella stick is being collapsed since the stick section 3 will engage the camming surface 37 shown in FIG. 7.

I claim:

.1. An umbrella frame including a crown, a telescopic stick, dome ribs hinged to the crown, a handle at the other end of the stick, a main runner sliding on the stick and an auxiliary runner sliding on the stick between the main runner and the crown, the improvement in which the crown is of a generally rectangular shape in plan forming a flat umbrella and the auxiliary runner includes in plan diametrically opposed lateral extensions having an area substantially less than the corresponding area of the crown and having converging side surfaces terminating in a single common open slot at the ends of the lateral extensions, stretcher members hinged to the main runner and to the dome ribs, strut members hinged to the stretcher members and to the auxiliary runner, at least a pair of dome ribs hinged at each end of the rectangular crown, corresponding pairs of strut members each of said pair being hinged in the single common open slot at the ends of the auxiliary runner, the dome ribs at their inner ends intersecting on a pivot axis substantially overlying and intersecting the pivot axis of said corresponding pair of struts in the single common open slot.

2. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 1 wherein the lateral side surfaces of the extensions of the auxiliary, runner converge toward the lateral end and are in the form of substantially opposed trapezoids with a substantially common base passing through the longitudinal axis of the stick.

3. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 2 wherein there are eight dome ribs hinged to the crown, at least a pair of dome ribs hinged to each longitudinal side of the crown and corresponding struts hinged to the converging side surface of the auxiliary runner.

4. An umbrella frame a defined in claim 2 wherein one of the struts on the auxiliary runner includes a tripping means with a camming head operatively mounted thereto, said stick including a slot, said head being engagable in said slot, said slot being located on the stick at a predetermined position in the stick whereby the auxiliary runner is temporarily halted as the umbrella frame is being opened from a closed position to an open position while the main runner is being pressed along the stick whereby the tripping means initiates the opening of the strut members and stretcher members.

6. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 3 wherein the hinged slots on the side surfaces of the crown are located so that the inward projection of the dome ribs substantially intersect at a point aligned axially with the large common slot in which the pair of struts are pivoted at the end of the lateral extension of the auxiliary runner.

7. Thestructure as claimed in claim 1 in which said auxiliary runner has vertical, outwardly opening slots in the converging sides, and the auxiliary runner has a depending tubular formation from which said auxiliary runner extension diverge, the auxiliary runner having a continuous peripheral groove about the outer side and intersecting each of the vertical slots and the end slots in the extension, and a single pivot element in said peripheral groove and having portions in the slots forming a pivot element upon which auxiliary runner struts are respectively hinged thereon.

l =l l 

1. An umbrella frame including a crown, a telescopic stick, dome ribs hinged to the crown, a handle at the other end of the stick, a main runner sliding on the stick and an auxiliary runner sliding on the stick between the main runner and the crown, the improvement in which the crown is of a generally rectangular shape in plan forming a flat umbrella and the auxiliary runner includes in plan diametrically opposed lateral extensions having an area substantially less than the corresponding area of the crown and having converging side surfaces terminating in a single common open slot at the ends of the lateral extensions, stretcher members hinged to the main runner and to the dome ribs, strut members hinged to the stretcher members and to the auxiliary runner, at least a pair of dome ribs hinged at each end of the rectangular crown, corresponding pairs of strut members each of said pair being hinged in the single common open slot at the ends of the auxiliary runner, the dome ribs at their inner ends intersecting on a pivot axis substantially overlying and intersecting the pivot axis of said corresponding pair of struts in the single common open slot.
 2. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 1 wherein the lateral side surfaces of the extensions of the auxiliary runner converge toward the lateral end and are in the form of substantially opposed trapezoids with a substantially common base passing through the longitudinal axis of the stick.
 3. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 2 wherein there are eight dome ribs hinged to the crown, at least a pair of dome ribs hinged to each longitudinal side of the crown and corresponding struts hinged to the converging side surface of the auxiliary runner.
 4. An umbrella frame a defined in claim 2 wherein one of the struts on the auxiliary runner includes a tripping means with a camming head operatively mounted thereto, said stick including a slot, said head being engagable in said slot, said slot being located on the stick at a predetermined position in the stick whereby the auxiliary runner is temporarily halted as the umbrella frame is being opened from a closed position to an open position while the main runner is being pressed along the stick whereby the tripping means initiates the opening of the strut members and stretcher members.
 5. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 2 wherein the end surfaces of the trapezoidal lateral extensions including the outwardly opening slots which correspond in width to the space between the pair of dome ribs hinged to the corresponding ends of the crown.
 6. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 3 wherein the hinged slots on the side surfaces of the crown are located so that the inward projection of the dome ribs substantially intersect at a point aligned axially with the large common slot in which the pair of struts are pivoted at the end of the lateral extension of the auxiliary runner.
 7. The structure as claimed in claim 1 in which said auxiliary runner has vertical, outwardly opening slots in the converging sides, and the auxiliary runner has a depending tubular formation from which said auxiliary runner extension diverge, the auxiliary runner having a conTinuous peripheral groove about the outer side and intersecting each of the vertical slots and the end slots in the extension, and a single pivot element in said peripheral groove and having portions in the slots forming a pivot element upon which auxiliary runner struts are respectively hinged thereon. 